we just had a load of surprises thrown at us in the blink of an eye

 well this week had to be a very interesting one because we just had a load of surprises thrown at us in the blink of an eye. Monday morning we were told that we would have to do informes this week which just means that i have to do my job as district leader and tell presidente about the district. Well i couldn't do that because i hadn't done an exchange with one of the elders so we had to do a quick exchange there from Tuesday to Wednesday so that i would be able to complete my job. 

Exchanges for me are really fun because i get to take a nice bus ride to a little town called Arroyito. The bus we take is like taking a plane. Nice seats a movie that usually is going on and a nice quite rumble of the engines. It makes for a fun ride. But it was a super cool exchange because on of the elders has quick make root beer extract. and lets just say 3 Americans that have all desires to remember something from home we made root beer floats that night to celebrate the exchange.

   After the exchange we had to travel to Cordoba to have a conference with Elder Gonzalez. He is the area president for south america south area. it was super cool to hear from a general authority. We are very blessed in this mission to hear from sooo many people. The weirdest part was to see every single one of my companions. It was hardest to say goodbye to my Latin comps. Thye are the ones that i probably will never be able to see again. Or at least the hardest people to speak to after but we still hope and i am going to try my hardest to keep in contact.

   This week we also had a baptism in the ward of a young mother who truly was converted to the gospel. She had left a lot of things behind and i know that with all my heart i was very blessed to have seen the big changes. I may not have been the biggest part of her conversion but i know that i was blessed to see faith in action and a true change in the heart of a woman who has gone through so much. I love the gospel for that. we see so many things.

  I love you all!

  Elder Cook

FELIZ CARNAVAL

   well alright so carnaval isn't as near as big here as in other places. TO be honest we think Carnaval is just a place where people party and just live as it says in 2 Nephi "Eat Drink and be Merry for Tomorrow we Die" but here it is just a day to be absolutely lazy and have another reason to not go to work. IT is amazing how a whole city will shut down just because of a national holiday. Not even super markets stay open for these type of things. I miss my 24 hr open stores....

   This week has been one of the most rewarding and happier moments of my mission. These last couple of weeks we have been trying to prepare some things to make our last couple weeks be really worth it. We set up a branch mission plan and it has sure had its results. We have been recevieng member refereneces like crazy. People are creating lists of 5 to 10 people that we didn't even ask for. They just already have them thought of and are ready to help the missionaries find. 

  Another thing that has happened this week was that I was calling one of my old areas this last week and it came up to the topic of a less active family that i was teaching while i was over there. They had a 22 year old son that i became really good freinds with. To be honest the whole family were good friends of mine, but when i talked about the family they told me that the eldest son is now preparing to go on a mission. I shot up inot the air and i think i almost hit my head on our ceiling. We had been trying so hard with that family and to hear that they are now going to send a missionary out into the field just makes me the happiest guy on earth. I truly felt the promise which reads in DnC 18 "15 And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!

 16 And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!"

I have truly felt the joy that is promised of sharing the gospel with others and seeing the work of the lord progressing as it is brought to every nation and people. I love this work and at times liek these i cant imagine being anywhere else. At times like these i wish i could be a missionary my whole life, but the lord as his time and he has his ways. His thought are not my thoughts and his ways not my ways. I love this work and i am going to take advantage of every moment that i have here as a missionary. I love you all and i hope that you have a wonderful week!

   Elder Cook

A week of things to do and probably could have done a lot more

 A week of things to do and probably could have done a lot more.

    First off, A week of more rain. Tuesday and Sunday we were swarmed in by the rain. Tuesday was the worst because it wasn't like the usual rain that we have here in San Francisco. So the pattern of the rain here is usually like 1 or 2 hours of rain and then the sun comes out and we all die because of the heat and the humidity. But Tuesday the rain was just going on all day long. Which was a blessing but at the same time a terrible thing. I have come to learn that Argentina does not have any sort of draining system that isn't just moving the water to other places of the city. Everyone here is just willing to tell you that we live in a gigantic hole. The water just flows right in to San Francisco and there is no way for it to leave. We have ended up walking through a few rivers on our way through the streets.

  It was funny because on Tuesday we had planned to work in the ares that is absolutely horrible on rainy days because the main street seriously becomes a river and it is all just pure mud as you fight through the streets. As we got to the street we were thinking of how we were going to cross. We then had a gigantic blessing because a man showed up on his motorcycle and took us across the river. It was super cool. First time being on a motorcycle for a bit and also just cool to be ferried across a river on a motorcycle was an interesting idea.

   Another thing that happened this week was for sure the amount of meetings that we ended up having. It was amazing that almost every night we had some sort of meeting that took our night away from working out on the streets. With the new year we have a lot of meetings that talk about what they are going to do different this year and the hope is to see a stake by the end of the year, or at least a branch that is strong enough to be a ward by the end of the year. We have the people and we have the will power but the only thing now is that we stick to our guns and we start what we have finished.

   I am super excited for this next week. We have some good plans and some really good lessons set up with the people that matter. I love you all and i hope that everything goes well for the week!

        Elder Cook

One week leads more to the other

So one week leads more to the other i think would be a good title for this last week. The first week of the transfer we have been trying to apply a lot of things from the one before and we went to a lot of members houses to get some references and maybe have the opportunity to get new investigators. Through that we finally were able to get to know our Elders Quorum president who has been super busy these last 3 months. When we finally got to meet with him he told us how much he has on his plate and he asked us for help in visiting members as well as getting our own list of families to visit. He asked us as well to act as counselors to help with the activities and specifically the family history side of his responsibilities. It has made things super interesting because for the next two weeks we have nothing but pure reunions for the next 2 weeks. It makes me realize how much i have learned about how the church runs here on the mission.

   Talking about family history, the district and the mission have put a huge focus on family history and has made sure that we can help others get theirs started and just through exploring i have learned a ton and i have also realized how much i should have learned this a long time ago. Maybe i just wasn't listening but i feel bad that i don't know as much as i probably should. I have a huge bloodline of pioneers in my blood, but some people i would have never guessed were converts when i thought they were members their whole life. I know now the importance of that and i hope to do a little bit of repenting when i get home.

   Well i really don't know what to write. I am running out of more and more ideas and my desire to share the small little things just comes to a close as i think that a lot of this could be shared in a later day. But anyways i love you all and i hope that everyone has just an amazing week!

   Elder Cook